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Compensation

It's Time to Pay Differently

New market realities require a different approach to compensation.

Pay Differently
What We See

The Talent Market Is Demanding A New Approach to Pay

We've been paying the same way for decades, based on "best practices" that no one can prove actually work. It is time for compensation structures to evolve and reflect a changing talent market.

Legacy Practices

What We've Been Doing


  • Reliance on salary ranges - by office - centered around market medians
  • Focus on pay as the primary lever for talent attracttion and retention
  • Using consultant-driven pay surveys as the only trusted source of data
  • Design incentives assuming "coin operated" employees

New Realities

What Challenges These Practices


  • Office locations become less prominent as workplaces virtualize
  • Pay exists in a greater context of meaning, balance, and impact
  • Proliferation of publicly available data shaping talent expectations
  • Human behaviors often invalidate incentive "best practices"


How We Help

Compensation Solutions

Tap into our proven exertise as practitioners and consultants to drive compensation success.

Job Architecture

Structure work into logical groups and levels to serve as the foundation for compensation management and career development.

Modern Salary Management

Create an an approach to salary management that treats employees fairly, embraces transparency, and reflects the needs of a more virtual workforce.

Pay Equity

Analyze your population to spot and remediate unwanted gaps. Comply with relevant OFCCP Pay Equity requirements.

Incentive Plan Design

We will challenge your thinking and offer suggestions for programs that drive variable pay in fair and business-aligned ways.

Annual Cycle Excellence

Drive better outcomes through an audit of your process strategy, using proven metrics to assess the quality of your pay decisions, or conducting a post-mortem on the process.

Sales Compensation

We've played a role in designing hundreds of sales compensation programs across many industries and sales role types. Tap into that expertise as you explore how to best motivate your sales function.

Comp-as-a-Service

Provide your Comp team access to proven experts who will challenge them, provide feedback, and support their professional growth.

Compensation Business Review

Be more proactive in sharing compensation insights with your business customers with proven metrics and expert insights

Our Compensation Insights

Nobody Cares About Your Average Compa-Ratio

November 12, 2025
Here’s a hard truth for compensation pros: nobody cares about your average compa-ratio.

ADP Acquires Pequity: Proof of the Pattern and a Test of What Comes Next

October 29, 2025
We’ve predicted that the cycle management space would consolidate rapidly. Today’s announcement that ADP has acquired...

Nobody Cares When You Say Compensation Is “An Art and a Science” (and that’s not true anyway)

October 28, 2025
Let’s start with a confession: we’ve all said it. You know the line — “Compensation is both an art and a science.”

Intelligent Pay Gets a New Name: Syndi

October 27, 2025
The latest from Syndio is one we’ve been expecting — and welcoming. The company has officially rebranded its...

Nobody Cares About Cost of Living vs Cost of Labor

October 23, 2025
Let’s start with a simple truth: the cost of labor is “right”. That’s how the market works. It’s how we price work, how...

Sales Compensation is a Team Sport: Define Team Roles to Maximize Impact

October 7, 2025
Every organization wants its sales compensation program to be motivating, fair, and aligned with business priorities....